RTA board to decide on Kenner bus fare increase

The Regional Transit Authority's board of commissioners is scheduled Tuesday to consider raising the standard fare for the Kenner Loop bus system from 80 cents to $1.25. It has been more than 10 years since the fare has increased and Kenner leaders said the move is necessary to the bus line's survival.

David Grunfeld, The Times-PicayuneRTA buses in 2008.

Kenner officials project that the bus service requires a $200,000 annual subsidy from the city, though Kenner's transportation consultant, Sharon Leader, had obtained federal money to cover that amount for the past couple of years. But that financing won't be available for the next fiscal year, necessitating the fare increase, officials said.

With the fare increase, Kenner's standard rate will be the same as in New Orleans, but lower than Jefferson Transit's, which charges a $1.50 base fare, Leader said.

Only one person attended a public hearing on the fare increase a week and a half ago at Kenner City Hall. That rider said he didn't have a problem with the price going up, but he wanted to see a commensurate increase in service.

The man's request -- restoring the transfer between the Loop and Jefferson Transit -- existed before Hurricane Katrina, Leader said. At the meeting, public officials promised to look into restoring it.

Ridership on Kenner's bus system has been steadily increasing in the past few years, and Leader said she doesn't expect that the fare increase will stop that trend.

The eight-person board of commissioners of the Regional Transit Authority, which runs the bus service, will vote on the fare proposal.

That meeting will be Tuesday in the boardroom at RTA headquarters at 2817 Canal St., in New Orleans. The meeting begins at 9 a.m.

The commissioners' meetings are open to the public. Anyone who would like to address the board should arrive a little early in order to fill out a speaker's request form and hand it to the board secretary before the meeting begins, according to the organization's website.